So yesterday, the hubby started his first day with Grants Pass Fire Department and from the sound of it, he loved it. All the nerves from the past few weeks disappeared as he found himself in the familiar routine of firehouse life. I'm excited for him-- this has been his dream for years and years. The end goal has always been a true Fire Department job. Volunteering has been great, because he's been able to get experience and still do what he loves, but it doesn't pay the bills. And the Forest Service was great because, again, it was experience.
But it was rough on us both. Our summers were spent at home, waiting for the call for overtime. Summer meant fires and money, which was always needed. And that meant 2 weeks or more for him out on the wildfire line, working his butt off for hours and hours on end. Doing it for days and days without any sort of long term relief. Usually after 14 days, he gets two days off before it starts all over again. That was our life for as long as we've been together. His winters, in the beginning, were spent working part time for our fire dept in Colorado. And when he finally was offered a full time job with the Forest Service in California, it was a no brainer. He took the job and spent the 2008 fire season working long hours during one of the worse fire seasons on record.
It's so weird to think that I'm not a Wildland Fire Wife anymore. I know how to be a Fire Wife. That part of this whole thing is easy. From day one of our relationship, I knew that his life revolved around fire. Now, I'm fitting into the life perfectly. We love everything about the Fire Department family. I'm so excited to get up there and finally live in the area, tour the stations and meet everyone that is a part of our new family. This is all so crazy. Each and every day goes by so slowly. I just want to be up there already, settling into our new home and getting into school and everything.
When he gets home on Thursday, we will be making lots of decisions about retirement, health insurance, life insurance and what not. I can't wait for the better benefits and pay.
Is this really happening?
